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Skoda Rapid Facelift First Drive

The Skoda Rapid is the most important product in the Czech carmaker’s India line-up. It is an India-specific product and a volume player for Skoda.

Half a decade into its life, the Rapid gets its first major design revamp and sheds the face it inherited from the Fabia. We hit the road with the aesthetically sharper, more powerful and better equipped Rapid to see just how much more appealing and fresh it feels now. For information on contact details of Skoda car dealers in Kolkata

Skoda Rapid Look

The Rapid’s fascia is completely new. A new chrome-outlined grille and angular headlamps bring it more in line with its bigger brothers, the Octavia and the Superb. Below the grille sits a redesigned bumper, with a large, honey-combed lower air intake, prominent air dam and fog lamps. In profile, the Rapid has not changed at all, and the only revision round the back is the lightly redesigned bumper and tailgate-mounted chrome strip. Other nouveau embellishments include the projector headlights with “jewel-shadow” daytime running lights as Skoda calls them and chrome moulding on the door handles. On the whole, the clean lines and sharp edges make the Rapid look fresh, purposeful and contemporary.

Other changes include a new 110hp diesel engine and some equipment upgrades. As earlier, the Rapid will be available in three trims – Active, Ambition and Style, with petrol as well as diesel, and manual as well as automatic options.

Skoda Rapid Comfort

The dashboard is identical to the earlier Rapid’s, which in turn is shared with the VW Vento. The dash design is restrained, but everything is where you expect it to be. Taking centre stage is a new large and reasonably crisp 6.5-inch touchscreen that comes with USB, AUX and Bluetooth support as well as MirrorLink connectivity. Other new equipment include rain-sensing wipers and electronically-folding exterior mirrors, which help bridge the gap between the Rapid and better-equipped rivals. Skoda’s trademark ‘clever features’ are manifest in the form of a cardholder clip in the centre console to hold all your toll passes and the likes.

The Rapid is reasonably comfortable to sit in. The front seats are generally comfortable, with side-bolstering to hold you in place, and a large-enough seat cushion to support your thighs. Their lumbar section, however, feels a bit hollow and might irk you on longer drives. The rear seats are firm and supportive, offering adequate thigh support and legroom and good amounts of knee room; you won’t get the same sense of space as rivals like the Honda City and Maruti Ciaz, though. Frontal visibility for rear passengers is also not the best on account of the large front seats. However, the provision of a front, as well as rear armrest, is appreciated.Other notable equipment include a tilt-and-telescopic steering adjust, automatically-dimming rear-view mirror, cruise control, cooled glovebox, climate control, rear AC vent, one-touch power windows and remote-controlled opening and closing of windows. Certain features are prominently missing, though, such as a rear camera and an engine start/stop button.

Skoda Rapid Gearbox

The new Skoda Rapid is available with both petrol and diesel engines. The 1.5-litre, turbocharged diesel engine in the Rapid now produces 5PS more power and the final output is 110PS.

Max power is also available 400revs lower in the range, although the overall impact on outright performance isn’t noticeable but the spread of power and torque throughout the range is likeable.The diesel unit is a strong performer; it has 250Nm of torque from 1500rpm and revs eagerly, too. The lively engine combined with the 7-speed DSG transmission proved to be a potent package, as the quick gearbox selected the right ratios to tackle whatever inclines that came our way.

Besides the power surge, Rapid’s spec-sheet also registers a slight increase of 0.06kmpl in the claimed fuel-efficiency, which now stands at 21.72kmpl for the diesel automatic version

The 1.6-litre MPI petrol engine makes 105PS of maximum power between 5200-5250rpm and delivers 153Nm of maximum torque between 3750-3800rpm. Although power figures for both the engines are closely spaced, the petrol engine doesn’t like to be hurried and gets quite audible when pushing hard.

Since it’s not a rev-happy engine, it takes time to get into the max power range and appears slower to 100kmph compared to its diesel counterpart. On-papers, however, the manual petrol Rapid is quicker than the manual diesel in the 0-100kmph run, albeit by just 0.1s.

On a positive note, the 1.6-litre, MPI engine has decent pull at the bottom end of the rev-range although maximum torque is available at 3750rpm.It is, therefore,a good ambler for leisurely runs as it doesn’t require frequent gear changes to maintain consistency.

Skoda Rapid Rideing

The suspension setup on the Rapid remains the same as previously, which is good considering the Rapid has always been comfortable on the move. Rapid’s ride settingsseem consistent with the engine characteristics as the petrol Rapid rides considerably softer than its diesel counterpart.

Between the petrol and the diesel Rapid, the petrol is lighter than the diesel by about 70kg for the manual version and 40kg for the automatic. The weight gain and stiffer setup results in a better grip for the diesel Rapid which inspires confidence at higher speeds.

The diesel Rapid is also a bit more engaging for the same reasons although the electro-mechanic power steering doesn’t deliver much feedback.

The steering feels light and doesn’t weigh a great dealat higher speeds. That said, the steering never appeared vague at any speeds; it’s just light but precise. Considering that the Rapid rides a bit soft, body roll is well contained and the cabin doesn’t unsettle unless it is driven rash.

Skoda Rapid Safety

Talking about safety, Skoda India is offering ABS and dual front airbags as standard across all the trims of the new Rapid. You also get Hill Hold Control and Electronic Stability Control with the DSG transmission. Skoda has had a bad reputation in India when it comes to after sales but they’ve come a long way in making the process transparent and reliable. They are also offering 4 year service car programme as standard with the new Rapid that covers 4 years warranty, 4 years of roadside assistance and an optional 4 year service package.

The update has certainly made the Rapid a lot more competitive. For starters it looks a lot sharper than before, gets more features along with ABS and Airbags being standard across all variants. Skoda has also looked into the warranty aspect and is now the only manufacturer offering a standard four year warranty along with four years of Skoda Roadside Assistance and Skoda maintenance Package. With prices for the base petrol manual starting at 8.19 lakh and going up to Rs. 12.55 lakh for the top end Style DSG (ex-Mumbai), prices are on par with the competition. The Rapid makes a strong case for itself for those who like to drive and appreciate a well-built product.